Auburn University publishes policies on the authority of faculty in academic and governance matters in the Auburn University Faculty Handbook. These policies are carefully followed, including those giving faculty primary responsibility for the content, quality, effectiveness, and ultimate approval of academic programs for which academic credit is awarded.

The Faculty Handbook Overview

Policies on the roles of Auburn University Faculty in academic and governance matters are fully explained in the Auburn University Faculty Handbook (the Faculty Handbook).1 The responsibility and authority of faculty in all areas are thoroughly outlined within the Faculty Handbook, and it is the primary document for academic policy as it relates to faculty involvement in governance. The Auburn University faculty are significantly involved in forming and reviewing institutional policies affecting academic and professional welfare. The most recent version of the Faculty Handbook was adopted on April 2, 2013. This document spells out in detail the role of the faculty in academic and governance matters and specifies the various mechanisms by which that role is to be carried out.

Chapter Two of the Faculty Handbook, titled “Faculty Participation in University Governance,” contains the constitutions of the University Faculty and the University Senate, plus sections describing (a) Senate and University Committees and their work, and (b) faculty participation in the selection and evaluation of administrators. As related to issues of faculty authority in academicand governance matters, the Faculty Handbook provides for the following University Senate committees:

• Academic Program Review Committee, which oversees academic program reviews and reviews any proposals to discontinue, merge, or otherwise restructure any academic program
• Academic Standards Committee, which studies policies governing scholastic standards for all students regarding admission to the university, continuation in residence, and graduation
• Administrator Evaluation Committee, which oversees and/or conducts a periodic evaluation of university administrators involved in the university’s teaching, research, and extension programs
• Core Curriculum and General Education Committee, which is responsible for recommending goals for general education and the Core Curriculum and monitoring the university’s effectiveness in fostering student achievement of these goals, as well as overseeing the assessment of student learning
• Curriculum Committee, which recommends approval or disapproval of requests for undergraduate curriculum changes and changes that affect both undergraduate and graduate curricula
• Faculty Grievance Committee, which evaluates grievances filed by faculty members and decides whether grievances should proceed to a hearing
• Faculty Salaries and Welfare Committee, which studies and makes recommendations concerning university faculty welfare, benefits, and salaries
• Graduate Council, which reviews requests for curriculum changes in courses that may be taken for graduate credit, reviews and recommends approval of all proposals for new graduate programs and modifications to existing programs, reviews existing programs, and recommends regulations and policies for the Graduate School
• Teaching Effectiveness Committee, which reviews what is currently in place in the university with respect to appropriate and reasonable teaching assignments

The Faculty Handbook is a living document produced by the faculty, overseen by the University Senate Faculty Handbook Review Committee, approved by the University Senate, endorsed by the administration, and approved as policy by the Auburn University Board of Trustees (the Board). The Handbook Review Committee receives and solicits suggestions for changes and updates to the Faculty Handbook and recommends to the University Senate such changes as it deems appropriate.

The last comprehensive update to the Faculty Handbook was in 2013 to eliminate inconsistencies and conflicting language; improve order, formatting, and presentation (such as numbering and other style issues); and add new policies or policy revisions that were needed. The updated version of the Faculty Handbook was submitted to the University Senate for review, which approved the updates on April 2, 2013. Additions, deletions, and modifications to the Faculty Handbook can happen at any time, provided that the proposed changes are approved by the Auburn University Board of Trustees following a recommendation from the University Senate. Two examples of Board approvals of changes to the Faculty Handbook are provided as documentation, and a full list of revisions since 2013 is included at the end of the Faculty Handbook.

The Faculty Handbook is publicly available through the Office of the Provost’s website.

Shared Governance

University Faculty

All faculty members can participate in University governance directly or indirectly by serving as officers or on committees of the University Faculty. The University Faculty is described in Section 2.1.1, Article 2 as consisting of “all positions of professorial status and other positions that have a primary academic function associated with Auburn University, main campus.” The purposes of the University Faculty are described in Section 2.1.1, Article 1 as “to elect officers of the University Faculty and the University Senate; to serve as a forum for the collective faculty; . . . and to act on matters pertaining to the welfare of the faculty.” The Executive Committee of the University Faculty consists of elected officers: Chair, Chair-Elect, Secretary, Secretary-Elect, and the immediate Past-Chair.

The University Faculty meets as a body twice per year, once in Fall Semester and once in Spring Semester, to hear reports and conduct business as needed. The constitution of the University Faculty also allows for special meetings to be called under specified circumstances. Recent samples of agendas, minutes, and recordings of these meetings are included in the references,,. Links to all such documents for the most recent two years are available on the web page for the Auburn University Senate.

University Senate

All faculty members can also participate in university governance directly or indirectly by serving as representatives, committee members, or officers of the University Senate. The University Senate, established by an enabling act of the Board adopted in 1968, is an elected representative body for the University Faculty. Section 2.1.2, Preamble, states that the University Senate is established with the belief that the members of the university community who are involved in the day-to-day life of the university should participate in the formulation of policies affecting the faculty and the academic life of the institution.” Section 2.1.2, Article 1, makes it clear, in accordance with the principle of shared governance, that “the University Senate is advisory to the president.”  In that capacity, it is the body having primary concern for the general academic policies of the university, including those involving curricula, programs, standards, faculty appointment, evaluation and development, student academic affairs, and libraries. The University Senate is also concerned with issues that affect all members of the university community, such as the budget, employee welfare programs, the calendar, and facilities.”

The University Senate meets ten times per year (monthly except for July and December) to hear reports and presentations, conduct business, and discuss issues “related toward promoting the well-being of the University.” The President, Provost, Executive Vice President, and other officers of the University typically attend all meetings of the University Senate and are available during these meetings if Senators have questions related to the business of the University Senate. The schedule of meetings and samples of agenda, minutes, and recordings of recent meetings are included in the references,,,. Links to all such documents for the most recent two years are available on the web page for the Auburn University Senate.    

The purpose of the University Senate is advisory to the President, providing a collective intelligence directed toward promoting the well-being of the university. The voting members of the University Senate consist of one faculty representative from each academic unit, the University Libraries, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, the three branches of ROTC, and University Outreach. These Senators serve three-year terms and are elected within each unit. The Senate also includes certain voting ex officio members of the university administration, as well as nine members appointed by the President from among the university vice presidents and deans of colleges and schools who serve one-year terms on a rotation basis. Officers of the University Senate are elected by university-wide voting faculty and include the Chair, Chair-Elect, Secretary, and Secretary-Elect, as well as the Immediate Past Chair. The University Senate Chair presides at University Senate meetings and chairs the Rules and Steering Committees, serves ex officio on all other Senate committees, and is a member of the University President’s Cabinet. The Rules Committee consists of the Senate officers and six members elected by the Senate.  Nominations of Faculty for Senate committees and recommendations for university committees are made by the Rules Committee, respectively, to the University Senate and President. The Faculty Handbook identifies standing committees of the University Senate, outlining policies, responsibilities, and authority of the University Senate and its standing and ad hoc committees.  

Committees

Much of the day-to-day business of the University Faculty and the University Senate is conducted by committees. The University Senate has 22 standing committees; a screen shot showing the list of committees is included in the references. The membership and charge for each committee may be accessed through the University Senate’s website. These committees are made up primarily of faculty members; they report to the University Senate and their actions are advisory to the President through the University Senate. There are also 27 standing University Committees, made up of faculty, students, staff, and administrators, that report directly to the President in an advisory capacity. A screen shot showing the list of committees is included in the references.  The membership and charge for each of these committees may be accessed through the university’s website. A representative sample of 2021-2022 reports from these committees are also available as documentation. These reports provide clear documentation of the extent of faculty participation in academic and university governance.

Table 10.4-1, 2021-2022 University and Senate Committee Reports

It should be noted also that the immediate Past Chair of the University Faculty and University Senate—one person serves in both roles—is an ex officio advisory (i.e., non-voting) member of the Board and participates actively during meetings of that body. Similarly, the faculty is represented (with voice but not vote) on several of the Board’s committees.

In practice, faculty members are given multiple avenues for participation in shared governance beyond service in the Senate or on one of the many Senate and University standing committees. For example, the Provost holds frequent forums at which faculty may voice their opinions about subjects related to the welfare of the university, such as academic computing, instructional technology, classroom usage, academic matters, and student success and retention. An example of such a forum, regarding the university’s COVID-19 response, is provided,. Faculty members are included on search committees for all university officers,. There are active faculty committees in every college,, and departments (examples provided). The Provost meets with the elected officers of the University Senate weekly, and the President, Provost, and Executive Vice President meet with them monthly to discuss issues of mutual concern and interest. Also, the President and Provost maintain an open-door policy under which groups of faculty (or individual faculty members) may meet with them to discuss matters of academic and university governance. This has certainly contributed to a visible culture change at Auburn University that substantiates the institution's passion for shared governance and faculty participation in all aspects of the university’s life.

In short, shared governance is alive and well at Auburn University. There are clear, published policies spelling out the responsibility and authority of faculty in academic and governance matters. These responsibilities are met through a variety of mechanisms, including the University Senate, a large number of active Senate and University Committees, committees in every academic unit, organized forums, and informal channels. Published Senate agendas, minutes, transcripts, and committee reports document the work of these bodies and the effectiveness of their work.

Faculty Responsibility for Academic Matters

Consistency with Institutional Policy

Auburn University faculty have primary responsibility for the content, quality, and effectiveness of academic programs and are encouraged to participate in that process in both formal and informal capacities. To ensure that the approval and assessment of academic programs is consistent with institutional policy, relevant guidelines are published in Chapter 5 of the Faculty Handbook, including the process for any curriculum model changes, policies for program review and assessment, and policies and procedures for notifying SACSCOC of substantive changes. Step-by-step procedures for academic program approval are also published on the Provost’s Office website and procedures and best practices for assessment are published on the Office of Academic Insight’s website.

Involvement at the Department and College Level

Program proposals must first undergo the necessary review and approval processes at the department and/or college/school level:

• The development and/or revision of any academic program at Auburn University originates at the department level (alternately, within the college/school itself, in the cases where no individual departments exist within a unit, or the program(s) are listed and maintained under the purview of the college/school at large). While the specifics of this process differ from department to department, across the university’s various academic units, this step culminates with the approval – and signature – of the department head or chair, who is a faculty member (example provided).
• Revisions to programs continue on to the Curriculum Committee (or other faculty body) at the college level for review and approval, before being forwarded to the appropriate administrative faculty (i.e., Dean or Dean’s designee) for review and approval.
• New program requests (including, but not limited to, undergraduate degree programs, formal program options, specialized plans of study within existing degree programs, minors, certificate programs, and accelerated bachelor’s/master’s programs) undergo a pre-approval process, pursuant to determining the viability, feasibility, and appropriateness of the proposed program request as it relates to Auburn University at large as well as the university’s vision and mission statements (see also: Standard 9.1). Once the program proposal has been reviewed and approved by the appropriate academic administrators, all of whom hold faculty status, the department and/or college is given permission to begin the regular on- and off-campus approval processes.

Involvement at Senate Level

The University Senate’s constitution has provisions for a number of standing committees, two of which – the University Curriculum Committee and Graduate Council – are charged with coordinating and ensuring all levels of on- and off-campus approval, from the university-level and up. The specific charges of these committees are as follows:

• Curriculum Committee: The Curriculum Committee consists of the Provost or designee as Chair, the Registrar or designee as Secretary, the Dean of the Graduate School or designee, and one faculty member from each college or school. The committee recommends approval or disapproval of requests for undergraduate curriculum changes. In addition, the committee reviews overall curriculum patterns and course content of the instructional program other than the University Core Curriculum and recommends to the University Senate curriculum changes needed by the university.

• Graduate Council: The Graduate Council consists of the Dean of the Graduate School as Chair, the Associate Dean of the Graduate School as non-voting Vice Chair, the Assistant to the Dean of the Graduate School as non-voting Secretary, and 12-15 faculty members, with at least one from each school or college with a graduate program, and a graduate student nominated by the Graduate Student Council. Faculty members are appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School from a list of nominees provided by the Senate Rules Committee. The list of nominees, at a minimum, exceeds the number of openings by two and contains at least two nominees from any school or college without a continuing representative. Faculty members must be full members of the Graduate Faculty. The Council reviews requests for curriculum changes in courses that may be taken for graduate credit, reviews and recommends approval of all proposals for new graduate programs and modifications to existing programs, reviews existing programs, recommends regulations and policies for the Graduate School, and assists the Dean of the Graduate School in carrying out those regulations and policies.

Upon receiving the requisite levels of approval within the college/school and department, any program-related proposal is reviewed by either the University Curriculum Committee or the Graduate Council, depending upon whether the program in question is undergraduate- or graduate-level, respectively. Accelerated bachelor’s/master’s programs, which allow students to take graduate-level courses in their senior year to be counted toward both their undergraduate and graduate degrees, are reviewed by both committees. As outlined above, the University Senate constitution calls for both of these committees to be populated by faculty members from the university’s various academic units, the end result being a thorough, university-level approval for each program-related request that a unit may have, again provided by members of the university with faculty status, as is the case with all courses of which a program consists.

Once a program proposal has received university-level approval by either (or both) of the above committees, a proposal then follows one of two paths. Either it: 1) is made effective for the purposes of the University Bulletin and enrollment (in the case of non-substantive revisions, as defined by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education); or 2) it is reviewed and approved by the Associate Provost for Academic Effectiveness, who sends it to the University President for inclusion for review and approval by the Auburn University Board of Trustees—and preserved as public record (example provided). In the case of substantive revisions and new programs, as defined by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education46, any program following on the latter of the two routes described above is then subject to review by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, pursuant to its implementation.

Please see attached documents for an example of the course and program approval process workflow in the university’s curriculum management system.

The process outlined above demonstrates a series of reviews and approvals by the appropriate faculty groups and administrative offices as well as off-campus governing bodies for the institution and higher education in the state. By ensuring that development and review of its academic programs are faculty-driven processes—with those processes being part of a larger framework that addresses the evaluation, assessment, and strengthening of academic programs as well—Auburn University clearly demonstrates a commitment to both faculty governance and the role of its faculty in development, review, and approval of courses by all necessary bodies.

Conclusion

Auburn University faculty members have full authority for the rigor, quality, and effectiveness of the curriculum at Auburn University, and they play an active role in its consistent and regular review. Faculty governance allows broad participation by faculty in developing and implementing academic policy and curricular development, and information about faculty authority and governance is publicly available through published policies. Regular processes outlined on Auburn University’s websites and followed in practice demonstrate that the educational programs for which academic credit are awarded have been principally designed and approved by faculty who are experts in the appropriate discipline and experienced practitioners of higher education more broadly.